


Whistleblower

by BelleMorte180



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Klaroline AU Season 2021
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 22:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30112647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelleMorte180/pseuds/BelleMorte180
Summary: Doing the right thing, for the right reasons caused more heartache than Klaus was expecting. Yet, even though his part was done and a long journey still ahead of him, Klaus learns that he has gained more than he had lost.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 50
Collections: Klaroline Events





	Whistleblower

**Author's Note:**

> WELCOME to Au Season. This is my first fic and hopefully will post one each week (no promises). I hope you read and enjoy, embracing the rebellion with us all.

Klaus stared blankly out ahead, listening to the sound of the Hudson River. When he started this, it had all been for _him._ He had set out to save his brother but now Klaus felt as though he condemned him; rang a life long sentence out as judge, jury and executioner. The hollow look in his eyes matched with the gaunt look of exhaustion gave Klaus a drive he had forgotten he had. All the passion he once held for art, creating a masterpiece on a canvas was moved to trading secrets in order to save thousands of lives; to save his brother’s. Yet, Klaus could not help but feel as though he failed. 

“I knew I’d find you here.” A musical voice sounded from beside him and he saw Caroline sit down on the bench next to him. She held out a coffee mug for him, something he took greedily. When the coffee touched his tongue he almost moaned. He would drinked the thickest of sludge if it gave him his caffeine fix but Caroline always knew where to get the best coffee in New York; being a coffee addict herself. So when he noticed she only came with one cup and that her hands were empty, he narrowed his eyes. It would take a very long time for him to shake away the suspicion of everything around him for a very long time. 

“No coffee?”

“Trying to cut back.” Caroline shrugged, giving him that smile that made his heart flutter. It was wrong, the feelings he had but he knew how he felt about her. After months working closely with her to bring down such corruption, he supposed it was only natural that Klaus felt _something_ for the beautiful blonde woman. He couldn’t help but smirk at the memory of their first exchange. Caroline took no one’s shit, least of all Klaus’s. Within the first five minutes of their first meeting, Caroline took Klaus’s ego and shoved it down his throat. He was sure that was the moment he fell in love with her. “How are you?”

“I’ve been better.” Klaus muttered honestly and he saw Caroline nodded. In the back of his mind, he knew that he should regret everything, that he should have never gone down this path. Yet, when he looked at Caroline with her blonde hair, blue eyes and understanding smile, he knew that she was worth everything, even if he felt guilty for the consequences she was going to have to face. “What happens now?”

“Well, Mikael has been arrested. The judge has issued no bail, since he is considered a flight risk and has the resources to disappear. He got himself a rather fancy lawyer so I foresee a rather nasty legal battle ahead.” Caroline reached out and took his hand into hers, the frigid March air was freezing in contrast to the warmth of her touch. “You’ll be suspended, probably never work in corporate America again. Questioned about everything you stole from the company and turned over to the FBI but you are protected by the whistleblower protection act so you’ll face no charges for the theft.” 

“I’m not worried about me.” Klaus muttered honestly. He knew what the consequences were when he began this journey. If he had been caught transporting company secrets, he could be sued and federally charged with theft and corporate espionage. However, he wasn’t caught and had Caroline as his contact, confidant and the one person he trusted when the web of lies became too much. The late night meet-ups for exchanges and subsequent morning after were the only thing that had kept him sane during the whole thing. “What about Elijah?”

“Mikael was blackmailing him. He is being offered immunity to testify against Mikael.” Caroline said, her tone soft but Klaus could hear the unanswered truth behind her words. She gave another gentle squeeze of her hand, providing him with the strength that he needed. “But, it doesn’t extend to the vehicular manslaughter charge. There is no statute on that and while Mikeal was blackmailing him with the information, the immunity does not cover it. He will be charged but from the last I heard he is taking a plea deal. Few years in jail. A heavy fine.”

“He is getting off light then.” Klaus snorted, not knowing how he felt about Elijah in that moment. It all started because of him. Klaus saw his brother losing weight, the bags under his eyes and the stress weighing down on him. He wanted him to be the brother he knew and loved again, the best of them all. Klaus wanted to save a man who he admired. He wondered after knowing everything now, if he still admired the man at all. “Elijah was once a wild child. Into partying, drugs, you name it. Then one day he changed on dime. Suddenly, he followed every rule. Thought about every consequence. Never stepped a toe out of line.”

“And Tatia?”

“Wrong girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Elijah said she ended things and that he never heard from her again.” Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing that he had seen the obvious lie. “Kol once said that he thought Mikael paid her off to end things with Elijah. It made sense. Our father, _their father,_ was particular on who we were with. If he thought our significant others were good enough, he would interfere, but you know all about that Love. Don’t you?”

“Oh I do.” He saw a twitch in her lips then as memories surfaced. They were almost caught once, early on. Mikael had grown suspicious of Klaus, but then he always had been. Never trusting the bastard son of his late wife. He followed him from the office one evening, only to see him meet Caroline at this exact spot. Klaus was thankful he greeted her with a kiss on the lips, pulling her into a lover's embrace instead of the usual drill of a confidential informant passing information to a federal agent. “Good thing the identity the FBI created for me held up against his background checks. He was pissed when I refused to take his bride to break up with you. I had hoped to get more information from him then but he is too smart to give something away so easily.” 

“I can’t believe Tatia is dead.” Klaus shook his head. It made sense. Elijah was seventeen and rebelling heavily. Tatia was the bad girl who he was involved with and then one day she vanished, Elijah completely altered. Truth was, Elijah snorted some cocaine and got behind the wheel of his Porsche, Tatia was in the front seat and soon enough, she was through the windshield. “And Mikael covered it up.” 

“Got rid of the body, the car, everything before anyone even got wind of it.” Caroline shook her head. Klaus knew what she was thinking, that such privilege should not be allowed. That simply because someone was born into wealth, it did not mean that they would face no consequences. She was raised by a single mother in a small town. Went to college on a scholarship and joined the FBI academy at age twenty-one, working her way up the ladder. Ten years of work and Klaus felt guilt that she was throwing it all away for him. “It wasn’t your fault Klaus. Tatia’s death is on Elijah. Not you.”

“I should have seen it.”

“You were fifteen! A boy. Your mother had just died, you found out that Mikael wasn’t your father, Elijah was going off the rails. Your younger siblings not understanding what was happening.” Caroline brought his hand to her lips, kissing the back of his knuckles. “It was a hard time Klaus. You were young. All you saw was a shift in your brother that you assumed was a result of your mother’s death. It's okay that you missed what happened and that you didn’t foresee it happening at all.” 

“Kol was thirteen and he thought it was strange.” Klaus pointed out and Caroline snorted. Caroline had met Kol a few times when she was under the guise of his girlfriend; a beautiful lie that blended into reality soon enough. It amazed Klaus that the FBI didn’t catch on sooner, believing that the ruse of a relationship was nothing more than an easy way for Caroline to integrate herself with the Mikaelsons. A year and a half later, Klaus is unsure exactly when that line got blurred. “Kol and Rebekah are in shock. They didn’t join the company like Elijah and I did. They had nothing to do with this. I’m actually surprised they are not angry with me. Rebekah actually said she was proud to call me her brother.” 

Caroline’s shoulders relaxed and an easy smile fell over her lips. Klaus thought back to all the late nights lying in his bed, pulling her close and whispering the fears of the fallout once everything was said and done. Taking down Mikael, a man who had been nothing but cruel to him the entirety of his life, didn’t cause him to blink; _especially_ since his actions were causings hundreds of people to lose their lives. Polluting the well water of a small town in upstate New York in order to save a few million dollars; giving people, _children,_ cancer and other unspeakable diseases from unsanitary drinking water was enough for Klaus to turn his back on anything. However, in the dead of the night, Klaus was terrified that he would lose his siblings in the process for being the one who sent Mikael to jail. 

“I knew they wouldn’t turn their back on you. They are many things but they are not cruel. They love you.” Klaus hated to admit it but the moment the words slipped past his sister’s lips, a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Everything that he had done in order to stop this tragedy from continuing. Yet, even with Rebekah and Kol’s support, there was still that sinking feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. “And Elijah is proud of you too. I think he has made peace with his fate, relieved that all of this is over and he can breath.” 

“Just not as a free man.” Klaus replied, not fully knowing how he felt about everything. If he hadn’t noticed that something was wrong with Elijah, Klaus would have been ignorant to what Mikael was doing. He wouldn’t have dug and found everything that Mikael was covering up. He felt guilty that thousands of people were losing their jobs because of one man’s greed but he knew at least those people in upstate New York were not going to die for something as simple as drinking water. “How did you find all this out anyway? About Elijah? I thought you were taken off the case and suspended?” 

“Oh, I am but Enzo filled me in. He figured you would want to know. Especially since you didn’t turn up at the office when the FBI raided it and pretty much went underground to avoid the press.” Caroline said with a small smile. Enzo was her superior and had taken over the case when Caroline was forced to step back when their relationship had come to light. “He said that once Elijah confessed to everything, getting the warrant was easy and Mikael’s arraignment was smooth.” She kissed his hand again, giving it a tight squeeze. “The press is hailing you a hero.”

“I’m not a hero.”

“You are to me.” Caroline said with such conviction that it took Klaus aback. Klaus had not been one to hide his feelings. He knew the depth of his love for Caroline, even in the beginning when she was fighting with herself for how she felt in relation to her job and the case. But Caroline was not as open as one would assume. She buried her true feelings deep down that he wondered if she would ever admit them aloud. “I know this last year has been hard on you but you were so brave. And no matter what, you did the right thing.” Klaus remained silent, staring at Caroline as though he was seeing her for the first time again. “Let me ask you this, if you knew the outcome of everything. Elijah, the company going down, everything, would you have changed your mind and sat back and did nothing?”

Klaus pondered on her words, remembering how life had been a year and a half ago. Sitting in his high rise office, gazing out into Manhattan, seemingly living the perfect life of a shareholder at Mikaelson Inc. A different woman in his bed every night and a penthouse apartment that overlooked the skyline. He thought of the disdain Mikael held for him, hiding from the world that Klaus was not his son, a private matter he didn’t want the press to know about. He thought of Elijah and the weight loss and stress that was weighing him down. He thought of Caroline and how her career was in jeopardy because of his love for her. 

He thought of his secretary Greta and her son that she now had no income to support.

He thought of the thousand employees who were now scrambling, trying to figure out how to make ends meet. 

He thought of the Parker twins, Olivia and Lucas, two five year olds whose life was cut short because of Mikael.

He thought of Marcel Gerard and the battle with cancer he was still fighting because of Mikael. 

“No. I wouldn’t change a thing.” The smile that grew on Caroline’s lips was warm enough to melt the light snow that was falling around them. He knew that was the answer she wanted to hear. One of the many reasons he loved her was because she had a heart of gold, always wanting to do the right thing. “And you? Would you change your mind?” 

“No. I wouldn’t change what happened between us for anything in the world.” She didn’t need to think, because the answer was obvious. Caroline took a deep breath and inhaled the cold air before leaning in to kiss him on the lips. It was a gentle kiss, and one full of promise. It was a kiss that told Klaus that even in the midst of the chaos that was going to come in the coming weeks, that Caroline would always be there. That the relationship they had for the last year was real and not for show. A kiss telling Klaus that something good came out of this act of rebellion. 

“What do you plan to do now? Will the FBI reinstate you or-”

“I’m not going back.” Caroline replied quickly before Klaus could finish his sentence. He gave her a quizzical look, noticing how she looked down at their linked hands and not in his eyes. He knew that look, it was the look when the wheels in her head were turning, a plan forming or when she had news she had to break to him. He stayed silent, waiting for her to gather her thoughts. She turned to look at the Hudson River, watching as chunks of snow and ice slowly flowed by them. “My mom was a workaholic. She devoted her entire life to the police station. Was rarely ever home. I spent more time with my friends’ parents than I did my own mom. I don’t want to be that way. If the FBI reinstates me, that's what will happen.”

“I don’t-

“I’m pregnant.” The words hung in the air like the breath he just let out. The shock ran through his body like a lightning bolt. They had been careful, Caroline had an IUD and they were not sleeping with anyone else. It was the first committed relationship he had in years since his relationship with Aurora had gone up in flames nearly eight years prior. Yet, he never once suspected that their nights together would lead to a child. 

They had never talked about children. They had never talked about what comes _after_ Mikael. The goal was to get to this point, to the end and wait for the fallout. Klaus did not ever think he would have children. He did not ever think he would have someone like _Caroline._ In that moment, he had never been more glad he stole that flashdrive the night he discovered Mikael’s sins a year and a half ago. 

“But I’m unemployed.” Klaus could hear the surprise in his own voice and see the apprehension on her face, worried about his reaction; one that broke into laughter the moment the words slipped from his lips. 

“Seriously? That's what you have to say right now?” The sound of her laughter caused the first true smile to grow on his face. It was a wide smile that showed the dimples on his cheeks; a look he knew that Caroline enjoyed seeing on him. Klaus pulled Caroline to him, pressing her lips to his in a heated kiss, unable to say anything at all but he needed her to know that he was happy. That this was the first good news he had received in a long time. “I have savings and you still have your trust fund. We’ll figure it out. Everything is going to be okay.” 

“A baby. We’re having a baby in the midst of all this chaos?” Klaus asked and Caroline nodded, her face consumed with joy and happiness. He imagined how Kol and Rebekah would react to hearing the news, how the conversation with Elijah would go with plexiglass between them. It was the worst timing imaginable, the completely wrong time to bring a child in the world; but everything Klaus realized he needed. “How long have you known?”

“Three weeks.” Klaus’s eyes grew wide and his lips parted slightly in surprise. He was about to protest, claiming that she should have told him earlier but Caroline held up her finger. “I wanted this to be over first. The moment I found out I pulled myself off the field. It was how Enzo found out about us actually. I came clean. Told him everything because no matter what happens, I want this. You, this baby and it all made sense but I knew that before I told you, we had to get through this. The end was in sight. Elijah was getting ready to talk, I just had to wait.”

Klaus nodded, still wishing she had told him sooner but at least he understood her reasoning. Even then, he couldn’t be mad at her. He didn’t have the energy. All he wanted was to hang onto what was good in his life and that child was something he didn’t know he had until that moment; and it was something he would never be able to let go of. The news was fresh but Klaus knew that he loved that baby as much as he loved the mother. 

“How did Enzo react?”

“Not well.” Caroline tossed him a sheepish look, biting down on the bottom of her lip. “There was some yelling. A reprimand but all that I could deal with. It was the sheer disappointment in his face that hurt the most. He went to bat for me in the past and I think I let him down.” Klaus pulled Caroline into his arms, placing a kiss on the top of her head. “But I don't regret it. I can’t. Even if I never work in law enforcement again, I’ll be happy.” 

“Me too.” They fell into an easy silence, both letting the cold drift over them. Klaus’s finger drifted down to her stomach, placing a gentle hand just above where the child would be. She wasn’t showing, at least not yet. He had a thousand questions to ask her. A thousand different things he needed to think about and plan. Yet, in that moment all he could think about was the fact that even with Mikael and Elijah going to prison, he still had his family. 

Klaus had more family than he even realized.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This turned out fluffier than I anticipated 😂😂😂  
> I just like the idea of them having a scandalous relationship from the beginning.


End file.
